Alipay, the mobile payment arm of Ant Financial, appeared to answer a call from Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong for greater deployments of mobile payment services in the city state.

The China-based company this week agreed a deal with Singapore-based CC Financial Services to expand availability of the Alipay mobile payment platform in the city, The Business Times reported. The collaboration will initially be open to Chinese visitors, expats and others holding a Chinese bank account, before being extended to Singaporean citizens.

A statement issued by CC Financial Services subsidiary CC Pay revealed the partners aim to equip 300 stores with mobile payment capabilities. Trials of the combined payment method resulted in a 70 per cent reduction in the time taken for merchants to receive payment, the company said.

Jed Huang Guanhua, CC Financial Services chairman, announced the partners would initially target retailers in the Chinatown area of Singapore, before extending availability to other shopping malls in the city, China Daily reported.

CC Pay already offers QR code-based mobile payments for businesses and services including hotels, taxis, food and drink, and deliveries.

The companies announced their cooperation a matter of days after Singapore’s Prime Minister lamented the city’s lack of mobile and cashless transaction options relative to China.

In a speech commemorating Singapore’s National Day celebration, Prime Minister Lee said the city lags in terms of the availability of mobile payment services, and said such services could play a key role in delivering benefits including creating new jobs and businesses, Shanghaiist reported.